The Hartford Yard Goats came out of their road series last week against the Somerset Patriots with a three-three split. After only winning one of the first three, they took two out of three to end the series and salvage the split. Despite their strong finish, the split represented the first time this season that the Yard Goats did not take the series win. Despite this, they technically remain undefeated in series a month into the season and their record sits at 12-8. Now that we have the decent sample size of a month of game action, it is a good time to review the players who have been fueling this hot start for Hartford.

Third basemen Kyle Karros was arguably the MVP of the first month of games. The right-handed-hitter currently possessing .338/.456/.979 slash line has become a key contributor to a Hartford lineup that is third in the Eastern League and in runs scored with 118. It’s been hard for manager Bobby Meacham to take him out of the lineup, and he is currently the team leader in games played with 18 so far. Karros started the season hot with a walk-off home run in Hartford’s opening game against Somerset. He only has two home runs this season, with his other also coming in that first game, but the 22-year-old son of former Major Leaguer Eric Karros, has provided plenty of on base ability so far for the Yard Goats. First basemen/catcher Jose Cordova has also hit extremely well in small size. While he has only gotten into ten games so far, his .382 average leads the Yard Goats. Outfielder Braiden Ward has also kept his average over .300 over 13 games played.

Hartford is third in the league as a team in home runs and the production has been split amongst the lineup. Shortstop Jose Torres leads the team with a total of just four, outfielder Cole Carrigg has three and four other players have all hit two. Torres also leads the team with 17 RBIs.

Carrigg has been a well-rounded bat so far and his 18 hits are second most on the team, only behind Karros. In addition to being second on the team in homeruns, he is third on the team in RBIs, tied for second in doubles and is the only player on the team with multiple triples. His seven stolen bases are tied with Ward for the team lead. Second basemen Dyan Jorge is also placed in the top three on his team in all of hits, doubles, and RBIs.

The strong production from the lineup has also carried over to the starting rotation. Starter Gabriel Hughes has been dominant for the Yard Goats in his first season at the Double A level. In four starts so far, the 23-year-old has pitched to a 2.70 ERA over 16.1 innings. He has struck out almost a batter per inning at 16 punch outs and has only walked two batters. The right-hander is in his first season back from 2023 Tommy John surgery, and his great performance after missing the entire 2024 season has been a promising sign towards his future development.

Lefty starter Mason Albright is in his second season as a member of the Yard Goats, and he has pitched nearly as well as Hughes. His 2.95 ERA is a tick higher, and he has only struck out 10 batters over 21.1 innings, but he has walked just five batters, and his results have been a vast improvement over his production a season ago. The 22-year-old could soon earn a promotion to Triple-A Albuquerque if he can maintain these results and could remain a starter at the major league level, if he can find a way to mix in a few more strikeouts.

24-year-old starter Blake Adams leads the team with 25 strikeouts so far through 16 innings against a single walk. The Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week of 4/13, he pitched well in his first two starts of the season before struggling immensely over his second two. The uneven start has left him with a bloated 6.19 ERA, though his control, strike out numbers and lack of home runs given up all point towards some poor luck in his last few outings. As a team, the Yard Goats rank in the bottom half of the league in strikeouts but are tied for the second least walks allowed with 65 over 168 innings. That number is only one higher than the league leading New Hampshire Fisher Cats, who sit at 64 through eight less innings than Hartford.

The Yard Goats have also received quality innings from multiple arms out of the bullpen. Lefties Mason Green and Sam Weatherly have both produced ERAs under 1.00 in seven games apiece, with Weatherly not yet allowing an earned run. Matt Turner, another lefty, has served as the team’s closer and has converted three of his four opportunities. The strikeout specialist has 10 through seven innings and, at 25-years-old, he too could soon earn a promotion to Albuquerque in his first season as a member of the Rockies organization.

The Yard Goats return to Dunkin’ Park this week to take on the newly renamed Chesapeake Baysox, who are sitting at 11-10 on the season. The Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, their top prospect is Enrique Bradfield Jr. The 2023 first round draft pick out of Vanderbilt places third on the Orioles top prospect list, according to MLB Pipeline. The outfielder’s game is built around his 80-grade speed and elite defense. Orioles starter Chayce McDermott also recently began a rehab assignment with Chesapeake as he recovers from a right lat strain and is likely to make an appearance in the series.